


Tea 101: an introduction

by towardsmorning



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shop, Canon Character of Color, F/F, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-27
Updated: 2012-10-27
Packaged: 2017-11-17 03:17:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/547049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/towardsmorning/pseuds/towardsmorning
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>(Prompt: Korra/Asami coffeeshop AU, which became a tea shop AU.)</i>
</p><p>Korra finds the tea shop two weeks after moving to Republic City.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tea 101: an introduction

**Author's Note:**

> So I originally meant for this to be set in some nebulous, vaguely-modernised AU, but it never, uh, actually came up so I GUESS IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE. I also, er, turned it into a tea shop? Because a) I know about tea whereas I cannot touch coffee without gagging and do not know more than that it... exists... and b) we have seen tea shops in ATLA and therefore I feel on more solid ground.
> 
> This is silly, self indulgent and was mostly written to make myself feel better. It does not have much in the way of any real narrative thread, but it has a lot of fluff, so I think I pretty much came out on top there.

Korra finds the tea shop two weeks after moving to Republic City while wandering around and steadfastly refusing to ask any of the passers by for directions. It's not as though she's lost, she tells herself, she's just _looking around_ and _getting to know the place._ That's what you do when you move to a new place, on your own, which you know next to nothing about. You... scope it out. Or whatever. You don't go tell random strangers that you're lost, is the thing to remember, because that's basically cheating.

She's been looking around, then, for three hours now. That's enough to make even her tired. So when Korra spies the tiny shop tucked away in an alley, apparently empty, both warm and inviting, she digs a hand deep into one of her pockets and rattles the coins there thoughtfully. _Why not,_ she thinks. She's got nothing better to do and though it's not the sort of place she tends to gravitate towards normally, the winter afternoon is brisk even for someone accustomed to places much colder and the shop is radiating heat from a several paces away.

The door is already open. Korra pokes her head in and sees that yes, it is empty like she'd thought except for one girl her own age, or perhaps a couple of years older, leaning against the wall. It's only a small room, five or six tables and space for a counter, an open doorframe leading into the back room; Korra steps inside, peering around in the dim light, and the girl looks up.

"Hello," she says, mouth stretching in a smile as she greets Korra, "What can I get you?" When she stands up straight, she's tall, a little taller than Korra herself. Her hair falls down her back in long dark waves, and her makeup looks like it took an hour to put on while also looking like the person applying it found that hour effortless. The effect is a girl who looks half-real in this light, smooth skin and dark eyes. Korra sits down abruptly, the back of her knees hitting a chair before she even registers that her legs have carried her over to a table.

"Uh," she says eloquently, "well, what do you have?"

The look she gets in response is perfectly blank. "Well, a lot of things, to be honest. Perhaps you could give me a hint?"

Korra grins awkwardly and is rewarded by the return of the other girl's own smile. "Jasmine, maybe?" She's not a tea person, normally. Too much fuss. It's about the only kind that she can drag up out of her memory on the spot. At least half her brain is dedicated to staring at the other girl's cheekbones, which complicates matters.

"Sure thing," her server says, and slips off to prepare it.

When the drink is in front of her, Korra swallows hard and says, trying for casual: "My name's Korra, by the way."

"Nice to meet you," is her response, and Korra tries to look as though she isn't analysing that sentence. Was that a tone saying 'you're a customer, so I'll be nice' or 'you seem nice, let's talk'? Who knew. People, Korra thinks, are weird. Talking to them is weirder. "My name's Asami," jolts her back into the real world, Korra taking a sip of her tea in a clumsy attempt to cover her shock.

"Nice to meet you," Korra manages around a scalded tongue. Even she can tell the tea is delicious, so she takes a second, more cautious sip. Asami leans against the table opposite, eyes fixed on Korra.

"So," she says after a moment, "I don't think you've been here before..."

*

Three cups of excellent tea and an hour and a half of conversation later, the sun is setting and Asami is locking up the shop. Korra stands by and watches, smirking when Asami suppresses a shiver even in her thick coat. "It's not that bad." The wind's picked up and Korra can definitely feel that it's cold, but it's pleasant in its own way. It feels like home.

"Says you," Asami shoots back, drawing her arms across her chest tightly. "Not all of us were lucky enough to grow up surrounded by ice."

"Shame," Korra says, and laughs at Asami's scowl. After a second, it breaks and Asami laughs as well.

"So," Asami says briskly, in what Korra already assumes to be her down-to-business voice, "tomorrow, twelve o'clock? Tour of the city, or at least, all the interesting bits."

"Yep," Korra says, for the fifth time. She gets the feeling Asami likes to keep things very organised, which is probably going to cause them some trouble along the way. Assuming that there is an 'along the way', though the arrogant part of Korra is internally pointing out that you don't give up your time to show someone around the city unless you intend to see them again afterwards.

"And you're sure you can find your way back here?"

"Yes, Asami," Korra says dutifully. "I'll be fine! Relax."

"You got lost on the way _here_ , you said," Asami counters dubiously. Korra ignores her as they set off down the street together. "Look, do you want to meet somewhere you actually know?"

"No way," Korra says, "and miss out on the tea?" She leaves off the fact that 'somewhere you actually know' mostly consists of the rooms she's renting and... no, that's really more or less it. There hadn't been streets at the South Pole. Or roads either. Korra swears the things move around in the night. She's going to have to drag herself out of bed early tomorrow and make sure she actually makes it to the shop.

"If you say so," Asami says, relenting. They walk in silence for a few minutes after that, side by side in the dark street. It's narrow; Asami's shoulder keeps bumping Korra's, and Korra keeps blushing, which is new. And not a bad kind of new, she thinks.

"Well," Asami interjects, stopping abruptly by a fork in the street. "I think this is where I leave you. Can you get back yourself from here?"

"Probably," she says without thinking, then waves a hand when Asami's mouth opens, "No, no, I can!"

The mouth closes slowly. Korra realises she's staring at Asami's mouth and looks away, glad that her cheeks darkening can't possibly be seen in the low light. "I'll, uh, I'll see you tomorrow, OK?" She means to make a hasty retreat, go beat herself up over being awkward in private, but before she can Asami seems to dart towards her with unexpected speed. She presses her lips to Korra's cheek briefly, lipstick sticky. It's only quick. Korra is pretty sure her face has set itself on fire.

"Tomorrow," Asami agrees, and this close Korra can see that she hasn't even got a pink tinge to her cheeks, which is totally unfair. She's gaping a little as Asami walks off towards her own place, but at least Asami can't actually see her doing so now.

She wipes at her cheek, the lipstick print just slightly tacky on her hand. Her face stays warm the whole way home.


End file.
